Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Satu Mare and Piestany

For one person, living is cheaper in Satu Mare: $930 a month against $1,144 in Piestany, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Piestany outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

45

Cost of Living Index in Satu Mare
Learn more

Satu Mare Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Piestany
Learn more

Piestany Living Index

Jump to prices

Satu Mare

🇷🇴 Romania

$930

/mo nomad

Piestany

🇸🇰 Slovakia

$1,144

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Satu Mare and in Piestany

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Satu Mare and in Piestany actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $930 in Satu Mare versus $1,144 in Piestany.

Satu Mare $930
Piestany $1,144

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,406 in Satu Mare versus $1,774 in Piestany.

Satu Mare $1,406
Piestany $1,774

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,883 in Satu Mare versus $2,404 in Piestany.

Satu Mare $1,883
Piestany $2,404

Living in Satu Mare costs roughly 19% less than in Piestany, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Satu Mare 31% lower, Piestany 16% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.20 RON 38.81

$7.26 €6.45

12.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.51 RON 154

$26.17 €23.28

24.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.48 RON 30.67

$7.81 €6.95

-17.03%

Cappuccino

$2.50 RON 11.81

$1.95 €1.74

28.21%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.49 RON 7.04

$1.61 €1.43

-7.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.28 RON 6.07

$1.09 €0.97

17.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.87 RON 8.87

$1.42 €1.27

31.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.44 RON 11.55

$2.30 €2.04

6.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 RON 5.33

$1.03 €0.92

9.71%

White Bread (500g)

$1.06 RON 5.04

$0.91 €0.81

16.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.13 RON 5.36

$0.88 €0.78

28.41%

Eggs

$2.69 RON 12.71

$2.85 €2.54

-5.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.35 RON 34.79

$8.94 €7.95

-17.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.53 RON 35.63

$6.36 €5.65

18.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.83 RON 51.2

$11.08 €9.85

-2.26%

Apples (1kg)

$1.10 RON 5.19

$2.00 €1.78

-45.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 RON 6.15

$1.50 €1.33

-13.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.28 RON 6.04

$2.10 €1.87

-39.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.43 RON 6.75

$4.31 €3.84

-66.82%

Potato (1kg)

$1.19 RON 5.61

$1.23 €1.10

-3.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 RON 6.48

$1.85 €1.64

-25.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.88 RON 4.14

$1.34 €1.19

-34.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 RON 3.34

$0.70 €0.62

1.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.57 RON 26.38

$5.26 €4.68

5.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.19 RON 29.29

$4.93 €4.39

25.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$0.85 €0.76

44.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.70 RON 8.06

$1.56 €1.38

8.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.54 RON 2.56

$1.02 €0.91

-47.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$23.41 RON 111

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.80 RON 3.79

$2.73 €2.43

-70.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 RON 4.03

$1.15 €1.02

-26.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.10 RON 38.34

$22.69 €20.18

-64.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 RON 7.47

$1.76 €1.57

-10.23%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$22.8K RON 107.9K

$26.3K €23.4K

-13.36%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$25.3K RON 119.5K

$27.9K €24.8K

-9.46%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$126 RON 597

$222 €197

-43.18%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$7.14 RON 33.79

$16.06 €14.29

-55.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$7.25 RON 34.30

$15.52 €13.81

-53.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.55 RON 197

$43.18 €38.41

-3.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.68 RON 50.5

$16.54 €14.72

-35.43%

Cinema Ticket

$6.19 RON 29.29

$7.69 €6.84

-19.51%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$155 RON 733

$337 €300

-54.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,829 RON 18.1K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.6 RON 282

$44.69 €39.75

33.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.51 RON 135

$32.99 €29.35

-13.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.6 RON 405

$55.3 €49.15

54.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.2 RON 328

$44.96 €40.00

53.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$322 RON 1,524

$452 €402

-28.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$260 RON 1,229

$398 €354

-34.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$647 RON 3,060

$995 €885

-35.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$410 RON 1,938

$903 €803

-54.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,007 RON 4,765

$3,237 €2,880

-68.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,056 RON 4,995

$2,847 €2,533

-62.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$650 RON 3,075

$1,178 €1,047

-44.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.05

3.3

113.64%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Satu Mare: October 18, 2026

Last update for Piestany: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Satu Mare

$260 27.9%

Piestany

$398 34.8% 53.4% $139

Groceries & Markets

Satu Mare

$195 21%

Piestany

$213 18.7% 9.4% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Satu Mare

$141 15.1%

Piestany

$254 22.2% 80.5% $113

Eating Out

Satu Mare

$140 15.1%

Piestany

$127 11.1% 9.2% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Satu Mare

$109 11.8%

Piestany

$80 7% 26.8% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Satu Mare

$54 5.8%

Piestany

$59 5.1% 8.6% $4.6

Getting Around

Satu Mare

$31 3.3%

Piestany

$13 * 1.1% 59% $18

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $322 in Satu Mare and $452 in Piestany. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Piestany pays 81% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $33.00 in Satu Mare vs $26.00 in Piestany. Groceries flip the comparison at $195 vs $213, with Satu Mare cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Satu Mare

🇸🇰 Piestany

🕒 Local time

00:19 12:19 AM

23:19 11:19 PM

1 h behind Satu Mare

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

102,411

29,587

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Satu Mare Piestany 380 km

From you

Satu Mare
Piestany

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Satu Mare vs Piestany: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Satu Mare is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and utilities. The 23% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 81% lower in Piestany. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $322 in Satu Mare versus $452 in Piestany. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 9% higher in Piestany. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $930 per month in Satu Mare versus $1,144 in Piestany – a 23% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Either city works on $800 a month, though Satu Mare gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Satu Mare and Piestany are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Satu Mare gentler on the wallet – expenses run 23% less than in Piestany. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.